Coastal Breeze News

BOOK REMARKS  Diane Bostick  [email protected]   Author: Suzanne Collins  Publisher: Scholastic Press  My usual instructions from the publisher of the Coastal Breeze are that I am to choose books for review that have been written in the past year or so. I explained to them that though these three books are all older than that, they are still very much in the public’s mind. When I went to the library to get a copy of the first of the series I was number 144 in line waiting for it to be returned. After hearing this they agreed to make an ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus [email protected] I hate posts. Concrete posts. You know the ones I mean. The ones that are in a road, or “protecting” a gate, or just there. The common belief is that they are fixed in place. I know better. They were devised by fiends, and they move around when nobody is there to watch. They reveal their ugly cemented bodies when we back up our cars, or when we’re otherwise not looking for a monster slab that has no purpose except to cause us great material and psychological damage. Just the other day I was being extremely ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS  Diane Bostick  [email protected] Author: Kristin Hannah.  Publisher: St. Martins Press, 2012.  Kristen Hannah’s style of writing is not my favorite for various reasons. It somehow reminds me of the “Chicken Soup for the…” books. All the girls have either raven or auburn hair, smiles are always gentle, eyes sparkle, skirts swing gently around shapely legs, feet always slip into shoes…in other words, everybody is perfect. Nobody has dirty brown hair, smiles are not snaggle toothed, eyes aren’t dull, and nobody just plain puts on a pair of shoes. I can only stand such kind and gentle writing for ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus [email protected] If anyone bothers going to a real bookstore these days, rather than an e-book site, they will be impressed by seeing shelves loaded with “Dummies” books. Are there truly that many dummies in the world? Maybe so, judging by the number of volumes, and also considering my own general ineptitude and lack of understanding about a number of things. Reflecting on the “Dummies” books I’ve come up with a list of topics they could cover for the general benefit of humankind, to say nothing about reaping huge profits for writers and publishers: • “Quantum Physics for ... Read More »

MUSIC NOTES BY GATOR NATE Nate Augustus [email protected] Most music fits into categories. Genres, if you will. Rarely do you run across a band that defies their genre, spilling across to others and forming a style all their own. Over the last few tweeks, Music Notes has delved into the world of some great local, island style musicians. Gator’s latest dose of sun-soaked sound advice is, to check out this rock/reggae/ska/calypso/dancehall/hip-hop/punk band that hails from Marco Island, or as they call it, “The Rock.” There, you will find out what all this musical jargon is about. Named for the hilly ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS Diane Bostick [email protected]   Author: Karl Pillimer Ph.D Publisher: Hudson Street Press, 2011. Much to my surprise it seems that the author of 30 Lessons for Living, Dr. Karl Pillimer, considers those who have passed their 65th birthday the “Wisest Americans.” So it is nice to know that I qualify as “wise” in the eyes of some. Please don’t ask my children if they concur with this conclusion as I would hate to see them shuffle their feet as they try to come up with some politically correct response. After all, they still get some benefit from making me ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus [email protected] It was pitiful. She sat in the corner wheezing, coughing and sputtering. At 250 or so pounds she was also very overweight. And she was very old. My wife and I consulted in a dark room where we could not be overheard. She said, “I know how much you have loved her, but it’s time. She’s worn out; has no quality of life; and the younger ones are passing her by.” I sobbed softly and murmured, “Yes, but it’s so difficult after all these years”. We tried hard to find a decent place for her. We ... Read More »

MUSIC NOTES BY GATOR NATE  Nate Augustus  [email protected] So…It’s Friday morning…wake up, get the Keurig goin’ with a hot cup o’ joe, unfold the laptop, double click on Safari, and punch in “JRobert.” Now this is not how we usually do things here at Music Notes Central, (my kitchen counter), but let’s try something different. Of course, we will chat with this week’s local legend in person, but I’m running with this for a minute. OK…so…type in “JRobert,” and the very first thing that pops up reads: “Marco Island, Florida entertainer presents a tropical variety steel pan & fiddle show” ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS  Diane Bostick  [email protected]   Author: Stephen King  Publisher: Scribner, 2011.  I would think that almost everyone over the age of ten, in 1963, remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. I clearly remember grabbing my two tiny children and running over to my neighbor’s house, tears running down my cheeks, in total shock, to see if they had heard the news. It seemed totally unbelievable. That was not something that happened in America. That only happened in ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus [email protected] It’s recently come to light that certain teams in the National Football League have been awarding “bounties” to players who did especially naughty things to opposing players. Presumably this included hitting quarterbacks and other stars particularly hard with the intention of forcing them out of the game. Players responsible for the results of this mayhem were rumored to be paid anywhere from a few hundred to (maybe) a few thousand dollars. In college they get helmet stickers for doing something good – perhaps like a really great “hit”. Some (not a majority) media folks expressed Shock, ... Read More »

MUSIC NOTES BY GATOR NATE Nate Augustus [email protected] It’s beginning to look like season is coming to a close. The birds are on the out and the roads are slowly clearing up. Things will be getting back to normal soon. The beaches will go back to being nice, quiet places for burrowing owls and horseshoe crabs. The hot humid summer time gives the local musicians and entertainers a chance to kick back and write some new material for next year. Island music has always carried a laid back vibe. It’s that style of music you listen to while you’re relaxing ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS Diane Bostick [email protected]   Author: Jodi Picoult. Publisher: Emily Bestler Books/Atria, 2012. This is Jodi Picoult’s 19th novel and I would have to say I found it one of the most engrossing of those she has written. Many of the books I have reviewed for you have had some type of moral dilemma involved and this is, once again, one of those books. All through life we encounter moral dilemmas. When we are young it might be should we copy the answers to a test we are taking from the person sitting next to us, who is known for ... Read More »

Music Notes by Gator Nate Nate Augustus [email protected] From the mangrove mazes of the 10,000 Islands, to the sawgrass flood plains of the Fakahatchee Strand, the little speck on the map that raised me is quite a land of inspiration. Southwest Florida is definitely “one-of-a-kind.” Nowhere on earth feels like this, and I couldn’t think of another place that I would rather call home. It could be the wildlife of the Everglades somehow blending with the salt air of the Gulf that gets me. Maybe it’s the sunsets and magnificent birds of the coast that inspire all these songs. It ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS Diane Bostick [email protected] Author: Téa Oberht. Publisher: Random House, 2011. If you want to read a book in which a butcher beats his wife to a bloody pulp and is then punished for it, you can probably find dozens of books of that genre in any library or book store. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, life disappoints, man beats girl, man is punished…or not, as the case may be. That’s it. No deep analytical discussion of why he did it. But if you want to first learn the tragic story behind how the man became a lowly ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus  [email protected] This year I nailed it. Or so I thought. My tax papers for 2011 were carefully arranged. Or so I thought. My bank stuff and credit card stuff was perfectly organized. Or so I thought. I was ready to fill out my tax form, get a HUGE refund and spend my days eating bon-bons and enjoying the eternal sunshine of Marco Island. It was going to be a slam-dunk this year. With glee I set about preparing to fill in the blanks on my form. My big “tax box” was overflowing with receipts, W-2 forms, 1099’s, ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS  Diane Bostick  [email protected] Author: Andy Andrews.  Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Publisher 2010.  This book has a couple of unusual things going for it. It was first published in 2005, under the name “Island of Saints” and nobody bought it. And, then there is the fact that it is published as fiction, but is largely true. All the numbers, history, dates, items unearthed and photographs are real. And the main characters, though given different names, did exist, and, in fact, some are still alive, though most of the story takes place during World War II. At the end of the book ... Read More »

By Orlando Attractions Magazine www.attractionsmagazine.com Universal Orlando Resort adds new ‘50s themed miniature golf courses If you’re headed to Orlando for spring break, you may want to check out Orlando’s newest miniature golf courses. Universal Orlando Resort has officially opened Hollywood Drive-In Golf, featuring two 18-hole courses based on classic drive-in era horror and sci-fi movies. To celebrate the grand opening, some of Universal Orlando’s iconic characters “hit the links.” Universal’s classic monsters – including Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein – putted their way through a creepy cemetery on “The Haunting of Ghostly Greens” course. On ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS  Diane Bostick  [email protected]   Author: William Landay.  Publisher: Delacorte Press, 2012.  I feel badly writing yet another review of a mystery/courtroom drama, as I try to write about a variety of types of books, but I couldn’t resist this one. Besides, in reading the list of the New York Times Book Review’s top 16 fiction books I see that 11 of them are mysteries, thrillers or courtroom dramas so it is pretty obvious that this kind of book is very popular. Defending Jacob is a book of which the late, master of suspense, director Alfred Hitchcock, would have been ... Read More »

REEL REVIEWS By Monte Lazarus [email protected] Denzel Washington is, well, Denzel Washington. He’s one of those rare actors who never seem to give a bad performance no matter the plot or script. In “Safe House” he’s Tobin Frost, a cool, cynical ex-CIA agent who is viewed by the Agency as having gone rogue. There’s no particular reason given for his apparent defection. Was it money? If not, what else? The film opens with magnificent views of Capetown, South Africa, but it doesn’t take too long for action to explode and continue through the film. Newly acclaimed Swedish director Daniel Espinosa ... Read More »

Diane Bostick [email protected]   Author: Steven F. Havill. Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press 2011. I am preparing myself mentally to start reading Ken Follett’s Fall of the Giants which is a whopping 1,000 pages long. I am sure I will enjoy it as I have many others written by Mr. Follett, but, in the meantime, I need to read something reasonably short that doesn’t require a lot of thinking or sorting of dozens of characters and One Perfect Shot fills the bill perfectly. It has likable characters, which is always a plus, the main two being Undersheriff Bill Gastner and a ... Read More »